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Early Years
The Paper Jets first formed as a collaboration between Rider University Communications students Frank Lettieri Jr. and Brian Erickson. The duo met by each serving on the board of the University radio station as General Manager and Program Director, respectively. They decided to work together, musically, as a result of a senior thesis project which challenged them to record an album in a professional manner using only consumer equipment. The Independent Study Sessions Recording sessions began in earnest in February 2005, using a Boss-BR8 multi-track Zip Drive digital recorder, as well as a number of Shure and MXL microphones. The pair quickly found recording to be a more difficult task than they anticipated. Erickson's previous band, Luck Out (for which he played drums) had recently dissolved, and so the group's former guitarist Bill Lambusta was recruited. In order to round out the lineup, Erickson's roommate Drew Novelli was brought in to play bass. The Invisible Solid Formation Following the completion of the Independent Study, Lettieri and Erickson both earned an 'A' grade and decided that, along with Lambusta and Novelli, they would form a proper band, christening themselves 'The Invisible Solid.' On March 25, 2005, The Invisible Solid played its first show; a four-song performance at Rider University's annual talent showcase. While the group had built considerable momentum for itself, The Invisible Solid's time as a band was bogged down considerable distance between the members, as well as continual lineup changes. The group's home base was Lettieri's house outside of Princeton, NJ. Erickson and Novelli both lived in New York. Lambusta lived in the Toms River, NJ-area, so practices were inconsistent at best. Novelli Leaves, Fiedler Joins Novelli was the first to leave the group, announcing his departure in October 2005 after securing a job at the ABC network in Manhattan. Not at all comfortable as a trio, The Invisible Solid recruited former WRRC DJ [[Jeff Fiedler|'Jeff Fiedler']] to join the ranks. While Fiedler's ability as a multi-instrumentalist expanded the group's abilities on stage, it also led to cancellation of the release of the Independent Study sessions. With Fiedler, The Invisible Solid enjoyed its most prolific period of live performances. And since he and Lettieri lived only 10 minutes from one another, practices were far easier to coordinate. It was during this time that The Invisible Solid announced the release of Live @ the Hook, an eight-song live recording culled from a two-night stand at the titular Brooklyn, NY venue. Back to the Studio, Breakup Fiedler grew increasingly uncomfortable with the touring life and - as a result - quit the touring lineup, thus cancelling the release of Live @ the Hook. Knowing this, however, Fiedler - an experienced studio musician - resolved to stay on board and help the band finally overcome its inability to release a record by sitting in as producer. The group then proposed a studio EP entitled, Water Damage. The core Erickson-Lambusta-Lettieri trio handled most of the instrumentation while Novelli was brought back in to play bass. Infighting, disagreements and general frustration yielded turbulence throughout the recording process. Unable to keep the peace, Fiedler left the project. After two months in the studio with no resolution in sight, Lambusta was next to leave the band. One final session took place in December with Erickson and Novelli before the books were finally closed on Water Damage. The Invisible Solid had failed a third time to release a record. The band members met and agreed to play out the final string of dates on their schedule. Following that, all activity would cease and The Invisible Solid would be over. Post-Breakup Recognition Following the January 2007 breakup of The Invisible Solid, two songs from the Independent Study Sessions - "So Unreal," and "Drive Down 495" - were commissioned for use in the Michael Bednarz feature-length film 'Thomcats.' Erickson was in attendance for the premiere screening. Reunion The only public performance to feature all five members occurred on May 8, 2013 at Havana in New Hope, PA. Releases In November of 2011, five songs from the Independent Study Sessions, two songs from the Water Damage sessions, and a pair of demos were released as part of The Paper Jets' Sorta Bored rarities collection. Splinter Groups Piper Maru Bill Lambusta would form a brand new group called Piper Maru with sisters Jaime and Bobbie Parker on vocals, guitar and bass, respectively, and Scottie Maloney on drums. They played their first show at John & Peter's in New Hope, PA on April 5, 2007, opening for The Sly Figurines. In between tour dates, the group managed to demo five songs. However, by year's end, the Parker sisters would depart in favor of starting their own group, The Timid Roosevelts, signaling the end of Piper Maru. The Sly Figurines Erickson and Lettieri stuck together and formed The Sly Figurines with Lettieri's cousin George Petrillo on bass, and local guitarist-for-hire Jim McGee. They debuted on April 5, 2007 at John & Peter's in New Hope, PA with Piper Maru as its opening act. The band toured the New Jersey tri-state area but broke up after Petrillo and McGee each quit. While Erickson and Lettieri didn't formally dissolve their partnership, they ceased working together for six months, unsure of their next move. The Ink Spills Following the dissolution of Piper Maru, Lambusta and Maloney formed a co-writing partnership and, with it, a new band called The Ink Spills. Maloney switched to guitar and the pair brought in bassist Sarah Wakelee and drummer Neil Laswell to round out the lineup. Like Piper Maru before them, an EP's-worth of songs was recorded but were shelved following the band's breakup in August 2008.